The next generation of woodpeckers

It's the second week of June, so time for a post on young woodpeckers.  I always look out for them in early June, or more correctly listen out for them as I hear them first when they arrive in the garden, but this year the first one arrived on 31st May, probably the earliest ever here.  I don't take so many bird photos these days but I always enjoy this subject.  These few were distilled down from several hundred photos taken through the kitchen window in the past few days.

Ten years of blogging

I'm not one for birthdays or anniversaries or big round numbers but I did notice that today it is 10 years since my first post on this blog.  That was on great spotted woodpeckers feeding their young, a subject that has been repeated several times at this time of year.  To come full circle the young woodpeckers have once again appeared outside my kitchen window this week so here are a couple of photos taken through the kitchen window yesterday.

In the last ten years there have been over 1500 posts on this blog but it isn't possible to say how many views or readers.  In 2017 the blog was targeted by French spambots and something similar has been happening over the past year, although this time I can't tell the source.  Blogger removes all the spam so I never see it, but strangely it still counts all the "views".  The real readership is about 2500 views a month so it is probable that there have been about 300,000 real views rather than the 425,000+ that Blogger lists.  Still quite a big number.  I hope I'll be able to complete another 10 years, probably always with woodpeckers in the second week of June.

The one that got away

I hear a bird strike on the kitchen window from time to time and it is usually caused by a bird fleeing from a sparrowhawk attack.  Like all good strikers, the sparrowhawk is experienced enough to anticipate the rebound.  When I went to look this time I saw the sparrowhawk swoop down from the tree to below the window.  By standing on a chair I could see it had caught a female great spotted woodpecker.  A woodpecker is a fair-sized catch (80g) for a male sparrowhawk (150g) and it was putting up a fight.  The fight moved towards the next window so I went round to the sitting room.  As I approached the window I saw a magpie dive down to attack, perhaps hoping to steal the catch.  By the time I reached the window all three birds had gone and all that was left was a few feathers.

I couldn't be sure what had happened - at best either the woodpecker got away or the sparrowhawk escaped with its prize, or at worst the pirate stole it.  Then the next day I saw a tatty-looking female woodpecker on the feeders with a lot of missing feathers so I think this is the same bird.  It obviously escaped when the magpie attacked the sparrowhawk.

One thing is for sure, the sparrowhawk will be back.

Garden birds

It has been an interesting week for birds on the feeders.  The most exciting sighting was a willow tit.  These photos were taken with the first camera to hand through the window.

I eventually got set up with a better lens with the window open but I have had only a few glimpses since.  This isn't a great photo but it does show the pale wing patch, said previously to be typical of willow tit (but watch the video in the link below).

My BTO Garden BirdWatch records show I have recorded a marsh tit three times in the past 25 years but never a willow tit.  Marsh and willow tits are hard to tell apart and my previous identifications could be wrong but I am grateful to Denise A, Phil A and Phil J for confirming the ID this time.  You can watch a short BTO video on telling marsh tit and willow tit apart here.

There are lots of woodpeckers as well and they tend to monopolise the peanut feeders.  Adults were still feeding fledglings this morning, three weeks after they first appeared.

Another rare summer sighting this week was a male siskin.  I see a few each winter but never before in the summer.  They did breed in the nature reserve only 1km away last year.

And another rare summer bird, a male reed bunting, a regular over the past three weeks.  I expect to see one or two in late spring but never before in the summer.

And previously reed buntings have always been ground feeders here but this one is happy on the seed feeder.

A pair of jays are here every day.  I hope they have a nest nearby and I may see young jays soon.  Jays nested in the garden last year but the nest was wiped out by carrion crows.

Activity on the feeders is frantic at the moment as there are so many young birds.  When it is here the willow tit isn't immediately obvious because there are so many young great tits.

There are almost 30 bird species in the garden each week, mostly regulars but every now and then a surprise.

Woodpecker fledglings

This is something I look forward to at this time of year and a scene that has played out outside the kitchen window many times a day over the past two weeks.  The fledgling woodpeckers are usually brought to the feeders by their parents around the end of the first week of June but this year they were early - the first I saw was on the 29th May. Since then it has been very busy with the adults squabbling over access, even though there are two peanut feeders. There are one or two woodpeckers, or sometimes four or five, every time I look out of the window.

The view has changed a lot since last year.  Then the feeders were hanging from branches right outside the window but it meant the light was poor under the trees and the youngsters were often very difficult to see amongst the leaves. All the branches were lost in the great storm so now there is better light.  The feeders are now very close to the nearest oak and the chicks like to perch on the bark, although often in a spot where I can't get a clear view.

Sometimes the feeding requires flexibility from both parties.

The variation in the extent of the fledglings' red caps is striking, and more than I have noticed before.

Even though they have broods of four to five chicks, each adult usually brings one chick at a time, but occasionally two. This male had a very efficient system worked out with the chick on the feeder, even though it wasn't able to feed itself.

While this was going on another youngster was waiting patiently only half a metre away. 

Once the first was fed the parent immediately started feeding the second one.

And another half a metre away a third chick, presumably a bit older and from a different family, was on the other feeder, working out how to to feed itself.  I think the youngsters are only fed by the parents for a a couple of days before they are independent.

The woodpeckers seem to be the only birds that consistently bring their young to the feeders to be fed.  There are lots of other fledglings in the garden this week.  I saw a family of young nuthatches but they were staying in cover while their parents went to fetch the food.

This seems to have been a really good year for woodpeckers.  At this rate they will be eating more peanuts than the foxes.